Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Trading 5.2% Higher - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Lyft's stock price increased by 5.2% to $15.39 amid reduced trading volume, which was down 81% from its average session volume.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Lyft, with a consensus target price of $16.70, while Canaccord Genuity and Oppenheimer recently lowered their target prices.
• In its latest earnings report, Lyft missed EPS estimates, reporting $0.10 earnings per share against a consensus estimate of $0.27.

Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 5.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $15.27 and last traded at $15.39. 3,356,723 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 17,933,641 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on LYFT. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Lyft in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Susquehanna restated a "neutral" rating and set a $14.00 price objective (down previously from $18.00) on shares of Lyft in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Lyft from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $16.00 price objective (up previously from $15.00) on shares of Lyft in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Lyft from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $16.70.

Lyft Trading Down 0.2%

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $14.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a PE ratio of 66.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 2.26.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.17). Lyft had a return on equity of 14.32% and a net margin of 1.51%. The company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lyft, Inc. will post 0.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John Patrick Zimmer sold 2,424 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.80, for a total transaction of $38,299.20. Following the sale, the director owned 879,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,896,068.40. This represents a 0.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jill Beggs sold 1,572 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.41, for a total value of $25,796.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,467 shares in the company, valued at $335,863.47. The trade was a 7.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lyft

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYFT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lyft by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,049,250 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock valued at $451,645,000 after acquiring an additional 2,046,639 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Lyft by 26.3% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 24,849,205 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $294,978,000 after purchasing an additional 5,178,118 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lyft by 144.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 24,009,925 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $378,396,000 after purchasing an additional 14,205,143 shares during the period. Rakuten Group Inc. bought a new stake in Lyft during the 1st quarter valued at $130,434,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in Lyft by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 9,338,222 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $120,463,000 after buying an additional 1,224,056 shares during the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lyft Company Profile

Lyft, Inc operates a peer-to-peer marketplace for on-demand ridesharing in the United States and Canada. It operates multimodal transportation networks that offer access to various transportation options through the Lyft platform and mobile-based applications. The company's platform provides a ridesharing marketplace, which connects drivers with riders; Express Drive, a car rental program for drivers; and a network of shared bikes and scooters in various cities to address the needs of riders for short trips.